Tangential force (Mech.), a force which acts on a moving body in the direction of a tangent to the path of the body, its effect being to increase or diminish the velocity; -- distinguished from a normal force, which acts at right angles to the tangent and changes the direction of the motion without changing the velocity. -- Tangential stress. (Engin.) See Shear, n., 3.

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OXFORD DICTIONARY

tangential, adj.
1 of or along a tangent.
2 divergent.
3 peripheral.

Derivative

tangentially adv.

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THESAURUS

tangential

approaching, asymptotic, brushing, centripetal, centrolineal, concurrent, confluent, confocal, connivent, contacting, contingent, converging, digressive, divergent, extraneous, focal, glancing, grazing, impingent, impinging, in contact, irrelevant, meeting, mutually approaching, nudging, osculatory, peripheral, radial, radiating, rubbing, tangent, touching, uniting, unrelated

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ROGET THESAURUS

tangential

Contiguity

N contiguity, contact, proximity, apposition, abuttal, juxtaposition, abutment, osculation, meeting, appulse, rencontre, rencounter, syzygy, coincidence, coexistence, adhesion, touching, (touch), borderland, frontier, tangent, abutter, contiguous, touching, in contact, conterminous, end to end, osculatory, pertingent, tangential, hand to hand, close to, with no interval.

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